Volume 19, No. 4, 2022
Evaluation Of Covid-19 Themed Comedy Skits In Social Media Health Reportage In Southern Nigeria
Dr. Chinenye Amonyeze , Austin Okeke , Ogochukwu Agbo
Abstract
The paper probes the Nigerian government’s social media campaign to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. Focusing on government’s public policy measures to curtail the transmission of the new coronavirus disease through standard infection control measures and social distancing, the research evaluates ordinary Nigerians’ perception of social media dramatized coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study assesses the impact of viral comic videos shared on social media platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram etc. on people’s critical perception of the pandemic as well as their health behavior. The aim is to establish how the Nigerian government has effectively harnessed the social media entertainment platform in its charge to disseminate credible information to a largely young and semi-literate population which is economically imperiled with limited access to mainstream media. Stressing the deficit of trust between the Nigerian public and the ruling elite, the paper analyses how social media skits interrogate elitism and the counter infection strategy of lockdowns in a struggling economy, The paper emphasizes the crucial roles social media platforms have played in shaping misinformation and prevalent myths about Covid-19 in Nigeria.
Pages: 34-48
Keywords: Covid-19, Social media, Comedy, Skits, Viral, Transmission.